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Port of Gray's Harbor No. 5
Port of Gray's Harbor No. 5 is a type of 2-8-2 'Mikado' steam locomotive. It was built by the H. K. Porter Company in 1924 for the Carlton & Coast Railroad. Presumably, this was the reason the Flora Logging Co. renumbered the Porter to No. 55, the road number it would retain the rest of its days on the Carlton & Coast Railroad. The Port changed her road number to #5, and when the Port switched to diesels the #5 was put up for sale. The Porter #5 is one of the largest Porter locomotives ever constructed. She was ordered new by the Carlton & Coast Railroad to haul logs out of the Oregon Coast Range down to the town of Carlton, Oregon. The #5 was now restored by the MRSR in the early 1980’s to take passengers on a route from Elbe to Mineral and the old tender was replace to a Vanderbilt-style tender. Back in 1989 the locomotive was running some celebratory excursions for the state of Washington the same year when SP 4449 was also participating in the same events. Later that year the Vanderbuilt-style tender has the "Great Northern Railway" logo on display for the excursion. #5 is featured on Goodheart Productions' video "Winter Daylight". Today this locomotive is still at the MRSR but it has been taken out of service, apparently because its boiler is due for a Federally Mandated Refit. The whistle it used in excursion service is currently on Hammond Lumber Co. 2-8-2T #17. #5 originally had a 5 chime step top whistle at Carlton and Coast. She then was given an Ashton 6 inch 3 chime in her final years. The whistle is now on 2-8-2T #17. Trivia *The locomotive was first ordered by the Flora Logging Co., as #11 in 1924 and later sold to the Carlton & Coast Railroad. *In 1940 the C&C RR was abandoned and the big Porter was sold to the Port of Grays Harbor to use it in switching the docks in Hoquiam, Washington. *In the 1950's while most steam locomotives retired and they were scrapped, #5 was more fortunate. *An order was placed for the Porter and it arrived in Carlton sometime in mid 1924 and was immediately put to work. *The original road number was No. 11 and Sometime after 1924, Flora purchased a 1914 Baldwin 2-8-2 (s/n 41229) that also came with the road No. 11. *An order was placed for the Porter and it arrived in Carlton sometime in mid 1924 and was immediately put to work. *The Vanderbilt-style tender that #5 is using once served on the Northwestern Pacific RR in California it was acquired and it is currently used behind this unique piece of logging history. *Because of her power and durability, Porter #5 has been one of the main workhorses for the MRSR since returning to service. She was scheduled for major undercarriage work in 2004 or 2005. *No. 5 is one of the largest locomotives built by the H. K. Porter Company in Pittsburgh, PA. *In the fall of 1996, #5 and Climax #10 helped rebuild a bridge pulling rock trains and were featured on "The Rock Trains" from Golden Rail Video. *#5 has also been featured on "Awesome Trains Part 1 and 2", "I Wanna Be A Train Engineer", "Steam in the Mountains: Mount Rainier Scenic Railroad", and a "Tracks Ahead" clip based on Mount Rainier Scenic Railroad (can be found on YouTube). *In May 1999, 2000, and 2001 it doubleheaded with Hammond Lumber Co. No. 17. *This was the first Mikado to operate on the Mt. Rainier Scenic RR. *The engine was built for the Carlton & Coast Railroad in Carlton, Oregon and later went to the Port of Grays Harbor. *By the 1920's the loggers needed larger and more powerful locomotives to haul longer trains. The Porter decided to try and compete in this market and began building larger 2-6-2 Prairie tender - type locomotives and then 2-8-2 Mikado tender-type locomotives. *No. 5 was retired from excursion service since 2003 and it is put in storage at the Mineral repair shop in Mineral, WA. See also *Gallery Category:Steam Locomotives Category:Tender Engines Category:2-8-2 Steam Locomotives Category:Eight Coupled Locomotives Category:American Locomotives Category:Porter locomotives Category:2-8-2 Locomotives Category:Movie Star Locomotives Category:Built in 1924